


Once Upon Anura

by SoDoLaFaMiDoRe



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-24
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7292080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoDoLaFaMiDoRe/pseuds/SoDoLaFaMiDoRe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a little backwater planet called Anura, Rodimus lands himself in a much stickier situation than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Once Upon Anura

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to Bammshee for helping me start this idea and making such cute art, and all those who attended frog hell streamings!! I couldn't have done this without y'all!

Stepping out of the ship on the spaceport of Anura was something else. The Lost Light was in need of some basic supplies such as solvent and cleaner, and this was the closest Cybertronian-friendly planet offering those materials to trade.

That didn’t mean Rodimus had to like it, especially considering how disgusting the planet itself was. The condensation in the air stuck to his plating, and his olfactory sensors picked up the musty, moldy scent that only a constant damp could provide. The gentle caress of the heated, soupy atmosphere against his plating just made him feel dirty, after only a few klicks on the planet. The spaceport was not busy, considering the general remoteness of the planet and how few species came this way, so the large hall they found themselves in felt even more unwelcoming as every noise echoed.

And those complaints were nothing compared to the native inhabitants. Sure, he’d heard of this planet before, and the fact that the natives looked like the frogs he’d seen on Earth, but hearing about them and interacting with them were two completely different ball games. Especially when he could hear their thumping from a good hundred mechanometers away.

With the rest of the command crew following him down the ramp, Rodimus resisted the urge to shudder at the sight of the inhabitants leaping towards their ship at an unhurried pace. The resounding slap-whump of their pedes on the floor didn’t help matters, especially as he noted the slime on their skin. Magnus’ hand on his shoulder helped, even though he couldn’t quite hide the disgusted look on his faceplates as the group finished their alien approach.

“Welcome to Anura, our honored guests. I am Czar Lithobates of House Ranidae, and I hope you will find your visit to our planet pleasant.” Shifting, the obvious leader of the Anurians stuck its front pede out in greeting. Rodimus found himself completely confused at how to reciprocate. ‘Is it asking for a handshake?’ Ran through his mind, sending a wave of disgust through his frame. The Universal Greeting would be a good enough response instead of having to touch the slimy creature.

Unsubspacing some rust sticks, he held out the small, colorful box, and placed them in the proffered hand. The greeting wasn’t uttered with much warmth or sincerity, but enough to prevent any incidents. One of the other Anurians behind the Czar, covered in what looked to be a blanket made out of reeds and chains of different metals, shot Rodimus a look that made his plating flare. Shaking off the bad feeling it gave his spark, he slipped back into his role as the Captain of the Lost Light. 

And the raddest Cybertronian for a billion miles.

The Czar blinked its third eyelids, handed the box to an attendant and shuffled on its webbing for a moment. Blinked again, shuffled, and seemed to find his train of thought again. “Well,” his throat casing swelled, producing a loud, hacking RIBBET. “We will be having a banquet tonight. The leadership of your craft is formally invited to attend.”

Rodimus, still a bit shocked by the the fact that the Czar could make a vocalization that loud, didn’t immediately accept. Noticing that his Captain wasn’t making a reaction in a proper amount of time to respond to the invitation, Ultra Magnus cleared his vents and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder.

Startling, Rodimus' spoiler twitched as he blurted the first half-baked, decent-enough sounding acceptance that popped into his head. "We'll be sure to make it! Thank you for the offer!" Ultra Magnus resisted the urge to smack himself in the face at the obviously-too-casual acceptance of a royal invitation.

And that mech who hopped after Czar Lithobates was somewhat worrying. Ultra Magnus' database obviously didn't have the majority of this planet's citizens categorized, but that didn't mean that he couldn't identify trouble when he saw it.

And something told him Rodimus had just landed them in big trouble.

\----

The banquet itself had started off well enough. The Cybertronian "Leaders," designated to just being Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and Megatron. Ultra Magnus winced as he left the ship, processors highlighting just how many rules Swerve was going to break while he couldn't keep an eye on any potential lawbreaking. It was never pleasant to have to go on a citation spree after these events especially when he was able to nip any incidents in the bud if he was onboard.

It didn't matter now, he was needed here and he could access the security feeds later. For now, he returned his focus to Rodimus, and the orange mech's animated story of surfing meteors in a nearby asteroid belt. Most of the guests acted politely interested, but Ultra Magnus could tell it was getting a little too long-winded for their tastes.

Megatron burst him a shortwave comm of his own wariness, sending a pointed glance towards the before-seen frog sitting to the left of the King.

 

 

Too late. During one particular finishing gesticulation, Rodimus' arm knocked into one of the amphibian's glasses, sending it flying and crashing to another portion of the table. 

The portion of the table which the Czar and his advisors were sitting at.

The portion of the table heavily laden with expensive, rare delicacies and glasses upon glasses of different drinks.

The portion of the table laden with expensive delicacies which the Czar and his retinue were now thoroughly soaked in.

Ultra Magnus could feel his own processor freeze at the sight, the rest of the banquet slamming to a hushed halt as all eyes turned on their Cybertronian guests. Megatron was also frozen in place, but much quicker to recover from the shock.

The Czar was sputtering in outrage, Rodimus himself blanching at the sight of the mess, spoiler drooping and expression comically open. The rest of the members of the party were not amused with the display. 

Getting up from the chair, Ultra Magnus hurriedly moved to where Rodimus was sitting, placing a firm hand on Rodimus' shoulder and silently urging him up to leave. Megatron himself made his exit, comming them both that he would get the ship ready to leave while they smoothed over this mess.

Of course Ultra Magnus was going to have to smooth over Rodimus' mess. He always did.

Rodimus went with the steady pressure, Magnus hastily muttering an apology and quickly steering the former-Prime out while he was still too shocked to protest. Pushing him down one of the wide, un-railed bridges that’s edges sloped into decorative pools, Rodimus finally seemed to regain control of his frame and the situation. And his situationally-inappropriate sense of humor.

"Well, it looks better than what he was wearing beforehand, right?"

Magnus gave in to the urge to facepalm, feeling the beginnings of a processor-ache encroaching on his processor at the Captain's usual attempts of making light of serious problems. He was going to get them all arrested and executed, and the only thing he could think of was commenting on the Anurian’s clothes. "Rodimus, that is completely inappropriate. You're going to have to go back there and apologize before this gets worse."

Well, Ultra Magnus realized as he took in the Prime's expression, he should have remembered the golden rule of interacting with Rodimus. ‘Don't give him an order, he'll immediately do the opposite’. He didn't have the time to listen to his Captain throw a snit-fit. Rodimus may be the Captain, but Ultra Magnus was apparently the most responsible one on this ship of fools.

Reaching for the Prime's shoulders, he motioned to move him back to the banquet and beg for the monarchy's apologies. Rodimus dodged, having worked closely enough with Magnus to counter his attempts at fixing the situation. Every time, it made the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord want to handcuff his Captain to himself until he learned how to be a proper leader.

"Mags, stop! We’ve still got our ship, and Anura isn’t known for space travel! We could leave!" Sidestepping the next grab, Rodimus looked like he was going to bolt for it. Apologizing in his head, Magnus grabbed him tight by the top edge of the spoiler, in a grip that was probably leaning towards the border of becoming truly painful instead of just stinging. Rodimus struggled as he felt the sensitive metal let out a warning groan, before kicking a leg out and painfully smashing the prongs of his pede into Magnus' shin.

Ultra Magnus let go at that with a pained shout of his own, glaring at Rodimus with a look of sheer frustration and anger on his face. Any attempts he made to help his captain were met with this behavior. Fine then, Rodimus could make this mess, it’s his turn to smooth it over. Turning around, he stormed off without a word, every inch of his frame radiating fury.

Looking at where the large mech had thundered off, Rodimus felt his spoiler drooping as his body sagged. ‘Why does every interaction between us have to end in a fight?’ Staring gloomily at the water, he let his processor wander as he studied the hand-shaped dent that left a painful ache in his spoiler.

Rodimus jumped at the heavy slap-thump of one of the Anurians approaching. He ignored it, hoping they would just be on their way and leave him to his sulk. The pain was doing nothing to help fix his mood or the sympathetic pain coming from his spark, and he really didn’t know what to say to apologize.

No such luck. There was a particularly loud slap behind him, making him more irritated as he turned. His bad mood was growing worse by the second, and he didn't want to hear yet another lecture. Turning with a smart retort for the Anurian who felt like bothering him was a good idea, it died on his glossa when he recognized who it was.

The creepy one to the left of the Czar.

That was not a good omen.

Wincing, the mech took in the amphibians soaked appearance. It's cape was coated in the weird slurry the nobility of the planet favored, and it appeared to be full of small black specks he didn't want to know about. The frog's face was devoid of emotions, but its oddly-slitted eyes were not a comfort to the flame-colored mech. They were cold, judgemental, and seemed as old as the planet itself.

"Oh shit." It was hissed quietly, still-stinging spoiler hiked above his shoulders as the unsettling Anurian moved closer and closer into his personal space. Taking a step back, Rodimus felt the ground's gentle decline and froze. He was far too close to their strange pools for comfort.

"Greetings Rodimus, it's nice to be able to speak privately with you." Rodimus' spark froze at the tone, optics searching for Magnus in a desperate attempt to spot the large blue plating through the trees and shrubs growing by the pools. No such luck for him, the only lifeforms in the area were himself and the frog-being. His spoiler twitched, and his plating clamped closer to his protoform as he felt his core temperature begin to rise from stress.

"Um, look, if it's about the food thing, that was an accident, I swear." Hands going up, his optics were still scanning for any trace of his Second in Command. While he was still smarting a little from their disagreement, having the larger mech by his back was always a comfort. The Anurian seemed to notice his discomfort, even with only a minute shift in the dilation of its organic optics.

"Are you looking for someone Rodimus?" The mech's tone lost any pretense of politeness, and it felt as if his enegon had crystallized in his veins. Wincing, his spoiler drooped as he realized how obvious he had been. The Anurian, luckily, didn't make anymore comments on his searches for the mech he wanted as backup. As the Anurian changed the conversation, Rodimus felt as if his tank drop to his pedes.

"Or are you hoping someone is looking for you?" 

"Uh, no? Not really, just trying to find my way back to the ship, you know, captain things to do and all. If you'll excuse me-" Attempting to sidestep the Anurian, the mech took one step closer and Rodimus took one step back, spoiler telling him the air over the pools was cooler and he needed to watch his small amount of space the Anurian seemed to be looming in, or he’d be falling in.

"Rodimus Prime of Nyon," he winced at the full sounding of his name, the glyphs were strange with the organic lilt of the voice. He also didn’t like being reminded of his former home, it just made him ache. "Do not keep shirking from yourself. It is unbecoming for a captain." The tone was hard to distinguish but obviously not pleased. "You can barely fool yourself, let alone anyone else paying attention to your facade."

Rodimus winced. Had he really been that obvious about it all? 

"Well, I'm curious to see what happens if you don't have a facade to hide behind." The Anurian walked ever closer, third eyelids closing in a way that made Rodimus distinctly uncomfortable. "Once this ritual is complete, you'll have until midnight of the third day to find true love's first kiss, or you'll be trapped in your new form until the end of your days."

There seemed to be an electric thrum in the air as the Anurian's eyes closed fully, the static charge crackling across Rodimus' plating and making his spoiler twitch as the uncomfortable sensations. He attempted to step away, heels disturbing the calm of the water, plating slicking tight against his protoform in an attempt to better protect sensitive internals. The Anurian warlock just stepped closer to Rodimus.

Taking another step backwards, Rodimus' pede slipped on the wet slope. The frog-magician sprung into action, large tongue striking him in the chestplates and sending him flying. His spark felt as if he was using his ability to catch fire, heating up and feeling far too energetic and compressed for his chestplates. It felt like Nyon, too hot, too intense, too loud and yet too quiet after the end of it all.

All he could remember after that was incredible pain, a feeling like his tires' rubber ripping itself asunder, and staring up at the purple sky through a curtain of bubbles as his frame sank.

\----

Ultra Magnus felt bad. More than that, he felt guilty. Being grabbed by the spoiler had been proven in the past to be an incredibly painful experience for Rodimus, and he hadn't even said a word of acknowledgement before storming off. Making up his mind as he acknowledged the need to apologize, he decided to go find Rodimus before the mech could do anything more exceptionally risky fix what he did.

Reaching the spot where he had left the mech, the area was completely empty. The water itself had a few bubbles hitting the surface, but beyond that difference, there was no disturbance in the environment. Walking to the water's edge, he peered into the scummy depths in the hopes of seeing any movement or signs of a Cybertronian frame in there.

Spotting a small bit of color in the depths of the water, he reached a servo in, grasping at something slimy and organic. Pulling it to the surface, he noted the bright orange coloring of a small frog, much smaller than the natives of Anura. Cupping it between his hands as the dirty water pooled and poured from his fingers, he inspected the organic that lay limp in his grasp.

Poking the amphibian in the stomach, it took some prodding touches before the organic began to stir. Membranes shifting back underneath the outer eyelids, incredibly blue eyes slitted and stared at the mech. Shifting, the frog stretched an unnatural direction, paused, and shifted again in his palms at it attempted to right itself.

"Mags? What happened?" A higher version of Rodimus' voice emerged from the frog's body, along with a slow blink of the clear eyelids.

Oh of all the rotten, Unicron-cursed, Primus-forsaken luck.

Taking a deep sigh, Magnus examined the frog. Yes, it appeared to be Rodimus, and the mechandling of the changed Prime was not helping the now-frog understand his situation as he let out a noise of protest.

Well, there was no easy way to put this.

"Rodimus, you're a frog."

The Frog-Prime blinked confusedly, looked at his webbed hands, and blinked. Twitching the fingerpads, he blinked again, sticking and shifting to Magnus's servo. Continuing to blink, he shifted his weight on his hind legs.

Dawning horror crossed Rodimus' face, and while he didn't quite have the vocal strength of his usual size, he could still let out a decent scream.

\----

By the time they had gotten back to the ship, Rodimus had stopped screaming, but that didn't stop the panicked trembling he attempted to hide as he held onto Ultra Magnus' thumb for balance. Megatron took one look at the mess, ordered the rest of the mecha on the bridge out, and Ultra Magnus knew if Megatrons’ servo didn't have to be surgically removed from his faceplates by Ratchet at the end of this conversation, it would be a miracle.

Dragging over two of the bridge chairs to slump in, Megatron still hadn't removed his palm from his face. Sitting in his own chair, Ultra Magnus placed the now-amphibian Captain on his shoulder so Rodimus could still participate in the conversation without shouting. A conversation that started with Megatron letting out a sigh that let both parties know a million years had come off his lifespan, and he would probably lose more before this debacle was over.

"Rodimus, how in the name of Cybertron did you wind up in this mess?"

"Well... Funny story actually Megatron," Shifting on his perch and sliding closer to Magnus' smokestacks, Rodimus' pedes kept sticking to the armor plating. Adjusting more to stall for time, a sharp glare from both the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord and the former Warlord compelled him to speak. "I, uh, kind of angered the apparent Court Magician of Anura after covering him with his dinner."

"You WHAT-"

"Hey! It looks better than what they were already wearing!"

"Rodimus!" Ultra Magnus' harsh rebuke nipped the potential squabble in the bud, before he let out his own sigh. "Megatron, he didn’t apologize after the incident, apparently. After you left I took him out of the hall,-"

"And left me!"

"And left, after a quarrel. When I returned I found Rodimus in one of their pools in his new," a pause, "amphibian form. I am unsure what happened in-between my leaving and return." The feeling of Rodimus' cold, sticky feet against his plating was not an altogether pleasant sensation, especially considering how it felt as if the Captain's body temperature was dropping.

Shifting some more, but much less coordinated, Rodimus felt something odd in his vocal chamber as he talked. "Look it's not my fault! Their weird RIBBET", freezing mid-sentence as his throat-skin expanded and emitted an odd noise. Granted, he'd heard it before from the Anurians, but producing the noise himself were two completely different scenarios.

Ultra Magnus and Megatron were giving him odd looks, and Rodimus gripped his fingerpads to a seam of Magnus's armor, the shocked look on his Second in Commands face making his spark clench. The drop from the chair looked close enough, if he didn't splat hitting the floor he could probably haul aft and hide somewhere on Anura to live out the rest of his days in a hole before they could find him.

"Rodimus, did you just-" Megatron looked lost for the word, having not fully encountered Earth's amphibians while on the planet. 

"Croak." Rodimus spoke quietly, unable to look either of them in the face. "So yeah, there was a weird situation and now I'm a frog!" The deadpan look from Ultra Magnus let him know that sidestepping the conversation out of embarrassment and fear of croaking again was not going to get him out of explaining what happened when his fellow commanders were gone.

"Okay, apparently that one Anurian who gave us all the heebie-jeebies has magic or something? All I know is he said some weird things, pushed me in the pond, and when I woke up I was like this. And for all I know, I'm stuck like this." The look Megatron was giving him was really starting to make his skin crawl. Ew, his skin could crawl. It wasn't a pleasant sensation when you’re normally inorganic.

"Well, most species with those capabilities have laws governing conditional threats. Do you remember anything else the Anurian said?" 

"He said I have until midnight three orns from now to furfill some stupid requirement or I'm stuck like this. Any other questions or are you just going to keep staring at me?" 

Rodimus' shifting against his smokestack was making Ultra Magnus uncomfortable. His slime felt unpleasant against his plating. Moving a hand over Rodimus to help keep him still, he winced at the cold touch against his palm, unable to suppress a shudder through his frame. Rodimus' body temperature was far colder than it had been before. 

Tugging the Prime off his shoulder with a muddled apology, he sent some heating to his hands and cupped them around the Prime to help keep him warmer. Megatron sent him an odd look for the gesture, but ignored it beyond that to focus back on Rodimus' cryptic statement.

"Rodimus, what's the 'stupid requirement'?" Even without using his hands, both of the mech's could hear Megatron's air quotes in his tone. Giving a pointed glare to his Co-Captain, the frog just shifted around some more to siphon heat and dodge the question. Megatron met the slitted amphibian eyes coolly, even gaze matching Rodimus' own challenging one.

After an intense staring contest, the flame-colored mech relented. Ultra Magnus was not sure how Rodimus managed to make his amphibious form look so indignant. The yelling was a little less surprising, coming from him at this point. "FINE! THE REAL WAY TO FIX THIS IS TO GET, ‘TRUE LOVE'S FIRST KISS’, BEFORE THE THIRD MIDNIGHT OR I'M STUCK LIKE THIS ACCORDING TO THAT CRAZY WIZARD GUY! THE ONLY PROBLEM IS I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH ANYONE, AND NOBODY'S GOING TO FRAGGING KISS ME LIKE THIS ANYWAY!"

Ultra Magnus winced at the high-pitched yelling, and Megatron's face was stuck in both of his hands this time. One was not sufficient for the insanity of the situation Rodimus landed them all in. Rodimus was still trembling, probably more from rage and stress than a chill anymore, but the shudders wracking his small body looked like they were becoming painful. Placing a gentle fingertip on his back, mindful of the pressure he was exerting, Ultra Magnus pet circles in the slimy organic skin.

Rodimus' trembling slowed, pressing back against the soild weight of Magnus' digit. Megatron, after another minute behind his hands, finally lifted his head from behind him, his face containing an expression as if he had lived through another Cybertronian Civil War. "Well, what can we do, considering that Rodimus can apparently find the most improbable of scenarios to put himself into."

"Perhaps we could go back to the Anurians and attempt to find the wizard? If we make amends, they might be more lenient and reverse this." Ultra Magnus found himself suggesting to his small captain. Rodimus shifted under his hand, looking at his Second-in-Command with those unsettling organic eyes. 

"Can't hurt to try. It’s a lot better than being stuck like this." He refused to acknowledged the actual demands from the wizard as a probability.

\----

Day one, and their search hadn't gone well. Rodimus had found his amphibian form was more troublesome than he first thought, being slow and awkward to move in due to the viscous sticky properties of his feet. He had just barely got the hang of leaping, only to realize that he couldn't keep up with any of the mechs, even the minibots. And not many minibots watched where they were stepping.

This led to constantly needing a ride from the other mechs to keep up, after the sixth time of nearly being squashed by a crewmember. Thanks to the Chain of Command, he wound up needing to stay with Ultra Magnus about 90% of his waking moments. Considering how irritable the situation was making him, being stuck with the mech who would crash if he spotted a speck of dust on his armor; who could blame Rodimus for trying to find some mental stimulation by messing with his Second? There was nothing better to do.

Either Ultra Magnus had developed the patience of Primus or was being lenient to Rodimus due to his situation as a frog as he straightened his datapads for the 5th time that joor. He barely even acknowledged the frog-mech and his antagonizing actions besides gently brushing him away from the pile to fix it. Rodimus hopped back across the desk to where he had made his datapads neat and prodded at the pads to move them out of the perfect angles he had them in.

He didn't even have to look to readjust them back to the perfect perpendicular at this point. Grabbing Rodimus without even looking at the little amphibian, he set him back on the other side of the desk. Signing off on his last datapad, he placed it on the desk with the other datapads, before turning to his unruly Captain and fixing him with a stern look.

"Rodimus, is there a problem?"

"Well, besides the obvious," pointing a glare to his own body, "I'm bo-ored Mags."

"It's Magnus, Rodimus, if you're going to shorten my designation." He reminded the mech for the thousandth time. "And I've finished the paperwork for the day." Taking a closer look at the frog-mech. he noted his captain's organic skin looked unusual. It was ashen and wasn't responding to muscle twitches the way it had been a few hours before. "Are you feeling alright?" 

"I don't know, everything feels dried out." Rodimus blinked, wincing at the flash of pain where it pulled on his eyelids. The movement didn't pass Magnus' notice, and he glanced to the emptied cube of energon he'd been sipping from while working. 

A small plan forming in his head, he scooped up Rodimus into his palm, subspaced the datapads, and took off down the empty hallway on a path Rodimus knew all too well. The frog-mech tried to hide his wince as Ultra Magnus passed a few of their crew in the hall, most mechs just keeping to themselves or avoiding eye-contact with Magnus. No mech enjoyed his lectures, and with most avoiding the mech himself, Rodimus felt a little safer and a little more invisible in the mech's hold.

Only for the anxiety he'd been fighting to ramp up as the noise at Swerve's filtered out through the doors. Shirking down in Magnus' servo, what passed for his finger-tips squeezed a seam in his palm plating in an attempt to keep himself grounded. He could feel his spark thumping in his chest, and he resisted the urge to cover his eyes with the secondary eyelid in an attempt to filter out some of the visual stimulation of all the mechs at the bar. 

Not noticing the captain's discomfort, Ultra Magnus stood near the far corner of the bar, surveying the room for potential citations and law-breaking. Rodimus just prayed to Primus below nobody would notice him in the larger mech's hand, even with Ultra Magnus’ awkward stance keeping his hand level with his waist.

Well, it seems like now more than before, Primus didn't feel like answering his prayers. Nautica, always one for a friendly chat, had sidled over to a chair next to Magnus and was about to strike up conversation with him when she noticed Rodimus in his servo. Coming closer, her usual friendly smile was plastered on her face as she looked at Rodimus' must smaller body.

"Hey Ultra Magnus? Is that Rodimus? Wow! You're really tiny Rodimus! What happened?" The Captain seemed to shrink in on himself as she continued to stare at him, shifting as he saw one of her fingers come closer in an attempt to poke at his new form. Ultra Magnus felt something tug in his chest at the Captain's discomfort, shifting the frog-mech over to one hand and lifting the other slightly to give him a small space to hide from her stare. Nautica picked up the cue and put her hand back down, smiling sheepishly and giving them a little more space.

Swerve, ever the one to find an object of ridicule, sidled up the bar to see if there were any orders to take or mechs to crack jokes with or about. "Hey Ultra Magnus, is that Rodimus? Hey Rodimus-" The frog shifted to look at him, confusion clear on his features as he looked at the bartender. "Wart's the matter?" Rodimus looked to be judging whether or not a fall from Ultra Magnus' height would kill him, and if so, if he could pull it off before anyone grabbed at him. 

Rodimus felt more than saw Ultra Magnus' other hand close over him, shielding him from view and giving him some sense of privacy as only cracks of light peeked through the slits of his fingers. "Swerve, you'll find it best to not make comments, or I'll remind you this bar is still facing many health code violations that could have it shut down permanently." Swerve thankfully shut his mouth at that, but the damage was already done. Ultra Magnus didn't remove his hands as he placed his order for a cube of coolant.

Swerve didn't even think of commenting as Ultra Magnus took the cube and walked out of the bar with it. Even using one servo to hold it, he made sure to position his hold on Rodimus so no one walking the corridors would think to make a comment about it or notice the small frog against the large mech.

When he got back to the office and placed Rodimus in the cube, the frog-mech still looked pale. Even for the limited amount of facial expressions he could make, Rodimus looked sadder and more lost than Ultra Magnus had ever seen him, amphibian or cybertronian.

It made his spark break, and Rodimus didn't even say anything. Not knowing what to say in turn, he opted not to speak and instead stuck his finger in the cube, picking up one of Rodimus' hands and letting it stick to his fingerpad. When the Captain looked over in confusion, Ultra Magnus just shot him a wan smile before pulling a personal datapad from subspace to work on in the quiet of the evening.

Ultra Magnus couldn't quite place why his spark jolted when Rodimus continued to hold his finger when he could have easily pulled away..

\----

Asking the Anurian Czar and his court for help had left Rodimus feeling more pessimistic. They'd been unwilling to provide any clues as to where the magician had gone off to, and even with their carefully-chosen words it was clear to see at least one of the advisers was quietly revelling in what had happened to the mech. When it was clear there was no aid forthcoming, it seemed they'd have to find the wizard themselves. And Anura was no small planet, and had no small population.

"Well, do you suppose we go looking planet-wide for him?" Rodimus suggested, once again sitting on his 'spot' on Magnus' shoulder. It was a foolish idea and even Rodimus knew it, but they'd already taken a day and a half since the curse had been set and were no closer to lifting it. Rodimus didn't want to think about the other option, considering it didn't even seem possible.

"Rodimus, should we go ask the rest of the ship to see if they have any answers? Some may be willing to help go looking, the Anurian court only met three of us." One suggestion, minus the fact that any Cybertronian was easy for the natives to recognize, considering they were neither organic or vaguely frog-shaped, magicked captains notwithstanding. Even making that statement, Ultra Magnus knew it wouldn't really work. They just seemed to be running out of options.

"Do you want to go back to the ship Magnus?" Was the only thing Rodimus could suggest. He remembered how uncomfortable the air was against plating, and there was no use to remaining outdoors. They found themselves once again in Magnus' office, Rodimus sitting in his cube as Ultra Magnus pulled out the personal datapad again. As he continued to work on the pad, he absentmindedly stuck his finger in the cube for Rodimus to hold.

Even with less time now, Rodimus felt more engaged to his surroundings as he watched Magnus write. He was hopeless at reading the complicated glyphwork appearing on the screen; that sometimes seemed as if Magnus had just drawn a box and colored it in, but it was interesting to see how much painstaking care he took in forming every character. Sure, Magnus was painstaking in everything, but something seemed to melt as he focus on his words, posture and optics not quite as stiff and cold. There was a certain warmth suffusing his frame, but it wasn't related to his body temperature.

Even with the peace of the moment in his trying times, Rodimus found his curiosity getting the better of himself. "Mags, what are you writing anyway?" He hadn't released his grip on Magnus' finger, even stretching his head out of the coolant to speak. 

Ultra Magnus jolted upright, faceplates heating and coloring as he thought of the questions. Glancing at Rodimus, he dropped his optics, taking a moment to find the words. "It's just some poetry Rodimus." 

"So? Could I hear it? Please?" 

The large mech took a deep vent, setting his pen down and picking up the datapad. "I don't have a title for it yet, but so far, this is what I've written." A pause, a deep vent, and he began to read. "The bell is mute. The silence rings./ The night entangles sunset's wings./ Star droplets on its cobweb rest./ A cry for rescue is suppressed. That's all I've written so far." Placing the datapad down, he looked at where Rodimus was still holding his finger. He was at least polite enough to not laugh at Magnus for his hobby. Even with Magnus’ fears of ridicule, Rodimus didn’t feel like insulting him.

"That was nice. Kind of intense, even for you, but nice. I like it." Shifting his grip on Magnus, he wasn't able to make facial expressions as a reaction, but it wasn't a bad poem. Better than when Whirl had attempted freestyle beatboxing. Settling back in, most of the evening was spent quietly burning away the hours in each other's warm, comfortable presence.

Even if it brought them no closer to getting Rodimus out of his curse.

\----

The final day's search brought no luck, growing more frantic as the deadline loomed ever nearer. Megatron had attempted reason with the court for a final time, but there was no such luck. Ultra Magnus and Rodimus had searched far and wide, and a few crewmates had offered to go looking as well.

As day turned to night, the last bit of hope had begun to wane. 

"Oh what's the use." Ultra Magnus could barely hear Rodimus from the floor, and his depressed tone certainly didn't help his enunciation. "We've got 5 klicks left and haven't found him yet. We're not gonna find this guy at all, are we?" Even posed as a question, Ultra Magnus knew the answer. Bending down, he picked Rodimus up, and his spark broke at the miserable look on his Captain's face.

Rodimus refused to look him in the eyes, head down and body sagging into the cupped white hands. Even without an EM Field to read Magnus could acutely feel his misery. Brushing one thumb down the sticky back, Rodimus still wouldn't meet his eyes. The captain was truly a sorry sight, and it made something in his spark jolt as he realize what nameless something had been pressing at him.

His internal chronometer, with its helpful little countdown, displayed there was only a klick left until midnight. 'Now or never' his processor prodded. Taking a deep vent, he felt his face flush as he mumbled the next words out. "I think you still look good as a frog." Leaning down, he planted a kiss on Rodimus' head, just below the eyes that were blinking at him in confusion. 

Suddenly there was a blinding light, and pressure against his hands. Rapidly resetting his optics as the sensors adjusted to the sudden dark, he felt soft lips against his and familiar pauldrons against his hands. Rodimus' optics were offline, but he made no intention of breaking the kiss until their vents were straining to dump heat.

Finally onlining his optics, Rodimus' plating flared as he realized what he was doing. Pulling back, he looked into Magnus' heating faceplates before looking down at himself. It took him a second to process that he was inorganic, faintly gleaming from his usual polish, not due to oily secretions. Looking back into Magnus' blushing face, both mechs went crashing to the floor as Rodimus jumped and hugged him around the middle, head buried in the Enforcer's chestplates. Unsure of where to place his servos, Ultra Magnus awkwardly hugged him back, smiling at the giggles coming from Rodimus.

"Thank you, Mags." Instead of responding, Magnus just kissed the top of his head and held him closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so someone else deserves a very special mention. I'm absolutely shit at poetry, so the poem Magnus is writing is actually a portion of one from the Lithuanian poet Janina Degutytė. Said poem is, "On the themes of M. K. Čiurlionis' Sonata of the Sun Finale". I can post the whole poem to my blog, it's quite beautiful, but I take no credit for it. It's all Janina's.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful time where you are, and thanks to everyone for their help in writing this!! I hope you enjoyed!!


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